Mar 16, 2022, 3:14 PM IST
Kerala Blasters FC edged past Jamshedpur FC to seal a berth in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22 final with a 2-1 aggregate scoreline after a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the semi-final at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco, Goa, on Tuesday.
Adrian Luna (18th) opened the scoring for Kerala with a stunning goal before Pronay Halder (50th) pulled one back for the Red Miners, who needed one more goal to take the game to extra time. Still, another solid performance by the Kerala backline ensured they held firm and confirmed a place in the summit clash since their defeat to ATK FC six years back.
In the first leg, Sahal Abdul Samad scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for Kerala, who made it to their third Hero ISL final. They were the finalists in the inaugural 2014 edition as well.
Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle was dejected as his men left to be content with the League Shield winner. "Yeah, of course, it hurts when you don't go to play the final, and you won't be able to do the double," he expressed.
"In tonight's game, we certainly failed to manage to get into extra time. Anyways we felt we did enough to win the game. Although Kerala Blasters FC had some good chances on the counter-attack, which was always going to happen because we have committed so many players forward," Coyle added.
"And then even going to go behind 2-0, many teams would have felt sorry for themselves. But we picked ourselves, and we kept going. Obviously, there are a few very close things in the second half to get that done to go 2-1 in front," the Jamshedpur FC head coach stated.
"Obviously disappointed to be out of the competition. That being said, we had an amazing season, surely the best team in the country over 20 games. But I want to say good luck to Kerala Blasters FC. They're a good team, good players. So we give credit where credit's due. Whoever they play in the final, it's going to be a terrific game," Coyle remarked.
Reports suggest that Coyle has moved into pole position to become the new Queen's Park boss, and when asked about his future plans, he clearly stated that if he continues to stay in India, it would be with Jamshedpur FC.
"Well, I'll sit down with the management as we did last year. The club had been fantastic, months ago they said to me that I'm staying on. That for me shows the quality of people we have at the football club," he said.
"Jamshedpur FC is an amazing club, and they have amazing people, and as I mentioned before, in terms of being in India because I've been lots of people would obviously like, you're there to help them. But if I'm in India, the only place that I will be would be is Jamshedpur. So there's a lot to think about and a lot to consider. And I'll sit down, have a good chat with management, and we'll take it from there," Coyle concluded.
On Sunday, Kerala Blasters will face the winner between ATK Mohun Bagan and Hyderabad FC in the second semi-final clash on Wednesday.